Şinasi Gündüz (born 1960, Hekimhan) is a Turkish historian of religion and professor at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. His interests include

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...

Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

, Christianity, comparative religious studies, and interreligious relationships.

Early life and education

Şinasi Gündüz was born in Hekimhan,

Malatya Province Malatya Province (; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 12,259 km2, and its population is 812,580 (2022). It is part of a larger mountainous area. Th ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in 1960. He completed his primary and secondary education in

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

and

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

and graduated from

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

's Faculty of Theology in 1984. Between 1988 and 1991, he completed his master's studies at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

's School of Oriental Studies and doctorate studies at

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

's Department of Middle Eastern Studies. In 1991, he completed his doctoral thesis on the relationship of the

Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and ...

to the historical

Sabians The Sabians, sometimes also spelled Sabaeans or Sabeans, are a religious group mentioned three times in the Quran (as , in later sources ), where it is implied that they belonged to the 'People of the Book' (). Their original identity, which ...

and Harranians. The thesis was later revised and published as a monographic supplement of Oxford's ''

Journal of Semitic Studies The ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1955. It covers research of the modern as well as the ancient Near East, with a special focus on Semitic languages The Semitic languages ...

'', titled ''The Knowledge of Life'' (1994).

Career

Gündüz became associate professor in 1995 and Professor in 2003. Between 2009 and 2012, he served as dean at

's Faculty of Theology. Between 2012 and 2015, he served as rector of the International Balkan University in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, North Macedonia. Gündüz has been a full member of the

Turkish Academy of Sciences The Turkish Academy of Sciences ( – TÜBA) is an autonomous scholarly association aimed at promoting scientific activities in Turkey. Although it is attached to the office of the Presidency and is largely funded by the government, it maintains f ...

since 2012. He is an editor of the journal ''Milel ve Nihal''.

References

External links

Google ScholarResearchGate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunduz, Sinasi 1960 births Living people Academic staff of Istanbul University Religious studies scholars Scholars of Mandaeism Historians of religion Historians of Gnosticism Alumni of Durham University Alumni of the University of Manchester People from Malatya Province